Religious Change Among the Igbo During the Colonial Period

Abstract

The study of religious change among the Igbo during the colonial era has suffered from two major problems. The first is inadequate awareness on the part of scholars of the nature and strength of Igbo traditional religion. The second is overdependence on the archives of the missionaries in Europe to the neglect of oral evidence in the field. The result of all this is that the degree of religious change among the Igbo during the period of colonial rule has not been satisfactorily demonstrated. After many years of encounter with Igbo religion Christianity spread rapidly. This break-through has been mistaken for intensive christianization. Using oral sources for the most part this article wishes to show that the dominant note in the religious change among the Igbo was adaption and accommodation. It also contends that during the period under consideration traditional religion still ruled the minds of most Igbo to a greater extent than has generally been realized, notwithstanding outward manifestations to the contrary. But what was Igbo traditional religion all about?